2017 Honda Civic Touring new car reviews

Honda’s Civic Touring comes with a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder that puts down about 180 horsepower. That little engine can also get you 36 mpg on the highway. Our test car came in a striking shade of red and an athletic look.

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Ed Higginbotham
PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham
UberDork

I gave this car three stars across the board. Literally everything about it is adequate, but not overwhelming. I do really like the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, and I'm happy this one came with the 6-speed manual rather than the CVT. Call me crazy, but I just hate hearing these engines buzz away at a single rpm level while you accelerate away.

And I must say I like the new Civics in this hatchback flavor, rather than the sedan. Not only does it look better, it adds an extra level of utility.

Overall it's a good car. It'll get you good fuel mileage, a comfortable ride and even look pretty good for a relatively low price.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens
Editorial Director

These new Honda Civic turbos are sucking me in, especially that torquey engine. I didn’t drive this one since I was on the disabled list at the time, but as the resident Honda Civic fanboi I felt the need to chime in.

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CobraSpdRH
CobraSpdRH Reader
5/24/17 9:23 a.m.

I was curious to see what people thought of these. To me, it seems to tick all the right boxes (hatch, manual, turbo, good mpg, good price). But I was wondering if the power would be enough.

Then I started seeing video of these beating 9th Gen Si's (stock!) and was even more intrigued. Then I saw this tune from K-Tuner that bumps up the psi and hp/tq:

I feel like I need to put these on the short list, once they can keep them on the dealer lots for more than a day.

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
5/24/17 11:02 a.m.

Yeah, that new turbo engine is nice. Mrs. Editor drives a 2014 Civic Si and, yes, it's an interesting comparison. The Si still feels snappier, though. I think a lot of that is in the gearbox--sportier ratios and a lighter flywheel. I say that without actually looking at any numbers, though. Be interesting to compare.

Brian
Brian MegaDork
5/24/17 11:05 a.m.

A coupe is on my short list for my next DD.

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 UltraDork
5/24/17 1:54 p.m.

Yes the 9th gen Si doesn't win in a straight line; but, the LSD/trans make it much more fun to drive hard. I'm sad to see the two-tier dash go away too. One of my favorite things from the last two generations of civic. I'm having a hard time liking the coupe and sedan of the 10th gen. The hatch is great though.

David S. Wallens wrote: Yeah, that new turbo engine is nice. Mrs. Editor drives a 2014 Civic Si and, yes, it's an interesting comparison. The Si still feels snappier, though. I think a lot of that is in the gearbox--sportier ratios and a lighter flywheel. I say that without actually looking at any numbers, though. Be interesting to compare.
JeffHarbert
JeffHarbert GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
5/24/17 3:05 p.m.

Gah, those jowls. I think the current Civic may be even uglier than a Toyota Yaris iA.

DirtyBird222
DirtyBird222 UltraDork
5/24/17 8:46 p.m.

I wouldn't mind if they put this power plant in the Fit. It'd be like the old Civic hatches of yesteryear (almost)

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